


Like Who You Like

by dollphase



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Coming Out, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Gay Sirius Black, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Never Have I Ever, Oneshot, POV Remus Lupin, Road Trips, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, Welsh Remus Lupin, takes place in 1977
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29236074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dollphase/pseuds/dollphase
Summary: Remus Lupin drives his father's beat-up car packed with hormonal teenagers from Wales to muggle London.In which Peter can't (legally drive), Lily is jealous, Marlene is a lesbian, and a wild game of 'Never Have I Ever' brings a group of friends together in more ways than one.
Relationships: Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 59





	Like Who You Like

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I quickly wrote this, so I apologize if it's not of amazing quality... not that I produce works of amazing quality even when writing a normal speed hahaha :) Anyways, please enjoy and leave some comments and kudos if you're feeling generous.

“Why can you drive but Peter can’t”, James asked cluelessly.

“I can drive!” Peter protested loudly from the back seat.

Remus rolled his eyes and griped the steering wheel firmer, turning his fingers white. How many times would he have to answer this question before James could finally get it through his enormous head that Remus had a drivers license and Peter did not. “Peter can not legally drive. He doesn’t have the proper records to get a license-”

“But he can drive”, Sirius interrupted. He’d been doing that a lot, interpreting to put his own two (usually useless) penny-worth in. It drove Remus mad. 

Peter grinned manically and reached over to give Sirius a high-five. If Remus wasn’t driving he’d strangle both boys. Peter had been trying to convince Remus to let him drive for over an hour now with Sirius egging him on all while James threw in a question every-now-and-then about muggle driving laws. Remus was practically counting the minutes until they made it to Cokeworth.

Remus inhaled sharply, trying to regain his composure. “Peter can not _legally_ drive”, he repeated much sharper this time around. 

“Why?” James asked curiously.

Sirius nodded his head in agreement furiously. “Yeah”, he said teasingly. “Why can’t he legally drive?”

Remus sighed obnoxiously. “Cause he doesn’t have the proper records”- he waved a hand in the air, cutting Sirius off before he even opened his mouth to protest. “Let me finish, Sirius. In the muggle world, there is something called a ‘drivers license’ and in order to obtain a license, you need to apply for one using documents that were registered to you at your birth or a passport. Now, I don’t know if you know this, but St.Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries does _no_ count as a valid place of birth”.

“Wait, you weren’t born at St.Mungo’s, everyone was born at St.Mungo’s!” James exclaimed, almost sounding worried.

“St. Mungo’s does not allow poor Welsh muggle farm girls into their birth ward”, Remus replied. “Now please, let me finish before any one of you impatient wankers interrupt again.” The car fell silent and James shoot Remus an apologetic look.

“If you were born in St.Mungo’s, you will not have any muggle documentation of your existence unless your parents register you otherwise. All though I don’t think many pure-blooded or even half-blooded families do. It’s different if you’ve got muggles or even just one muggle for a parent. Peter’s a half-blood, but his dad’s a muggle-born so it’s different. There’s no need for Peter to exist in the muggle world. Unfortunately, that means Peter does not have the proper documentation to get a driver’s license in the muggle world”, Remus finished. 

“Well, how do you know Peter’s dad didn’t register him in the muggle world?” Sirius asked stubbornly.

“Because he fucking told me you dumbarse-”

“Oi, Moony calm down”, James said soothingly, trying to calm the situation down. “While I won’t argue with you that Sirius is a dumbarse, I think it’s in all of our best interests if the driver of the car is calm and focused”.

Remus grew silent and steadied his eyes on the road. The grassy hills of the Welsh countryside curved around the bumpy narrow road and Remus tried to focus his attention on counting the cattle they passed by instead of his burning desire to wack Sirius across the head. Sirius had been acting awfully odd these last past weeks, it seemed as if he was always looking for a fight. When Remus visited the Potters, Sirius had constantly made snide remarks towards Remus or he would mess Remus’s hair up or he would poke fun at a new record Remus was into. 

Remus wasn’t the only victim of Sirius’s aggression, James and Peter had also gotten a few nasty remarks thrown their way except Peter was too cowardly to stand up for himself and James seemed to let everything slide. It made Remus wonder if James knew something that he didn’t. He probably did. Sirius and James were thicker than thieves. Remus knew about their late-night escapades, sneaking out of the castle to do whatever those two did alone. Remus wasn’t the type to get jealous, no, he didn’t care that he constantly felt like a third wheel in a four-person friendship. If Sirius didn’t want to confide in Remus, Remus wouldn’t make him and he expected Sirius to return the favor. Remus had secrets of his own to keep.

 _Secretes such as several secret meetings with a rather cute Hufflepuff boy back at Hogwarts. James and Sirius weren’t the only ones who could sneak out,_ Remus thought bitterly.

They drove in silence for another hour as they approached the Midlands. Remus tapped his fingers along the steering wheel, occasionally lighting a cigarette and letting it dangle in his mouth, not bothering where the ash landed. While the people carrier did belong to Remus’s father, both his parents were smokers and would not notice a bit of extra as in their beat-up car. They probably already knew about Remus’s smoking anyways, it wasn’t like he blatantly hid it from them. 

“How much longer until we’re in Cokeworth?” James whined from the backseat. Remus spared him a glance, smiling light at the sight of him. James’s hair was sticking up in every direction and half his face was pink from where he rested his head on Peter’s shoulder while asleep. He looked electrified. “It’s much too long since I’ve seen the fair Lily Evans”.

“If I’m reading the map correctly, we’ll be there soon”, Sirius said from the passenger seat, his eyes fixated on the fold-able map of the Midlands. “So you can quit whimpering and moaning”.

“I think he’s going through Lily-withdraws”, Remus remarked. He spotted James flipping him off from the side view mirror and stock his tongue out. “Any longer and he’ll start convulsing”. 

They passed through towns of strung-along homes, each one of them identical to the next. It was times like this Remus was glad he grew up in middle-of-nowhere Wales. He’d take the sheep and grassy hills over the monotony of growing up in one of these paper-cut towns anyday. He had moved a lot as a child, spending his first four years in a small town outside of Cardiff. After the incident his parents sold the home, too many bad memories resided there. They moved to the Birmingham area for a few years, moving between different neighborhoods as people grew suspicious, before eventually moving back to Wales where Hope was from. They moved to a small muggle town consisting of a post-office, a bank, a town centre, and a few homes all spaced out on hills. Remus liked the town well enough and with him at Hogwarts, his parents could live peacefully without planning their next move. The house was also planted on a large plot of land, as all the houses were on the hill, and there was a decently sized cellar where Remus could go to transform. The neighbors lived far enough to hear nothing and the very few kids that did live in the town were too busy causing trouble to really bother Remus. It was peaceful, if not a bit boring, but Remus could entertain himself well enough by reading a novel under the willow tree or smoking his lungs out by the creek at the foot of the hill. 

The town Lily lived in looked downright ugly. Everything was grey, and the houses were terribly dull. The neighborhood appeared to be some sort of a middle-ground between the working and middle class. The grass was an off-putting yellow and the air smelt like it had been burnt. Remus remembers Lily and her constant complaining of her sister and thinks he’d be pretty upset if he was the one left behind in a town like this.

“You think we’ll see Snivelly? Lily told me he lives here?” James asked, excitedly. 

“I hope so”, Sirius said darkly. They started playing the ‘what if game’ and threw around ideas of what they’ll do if they do in fact see Snape. Remus tuned the conversation out, not caring for it much. He secretly despised the way James and Sirius treated Snape sometimes. Just sometimes, though. More times than not, Snape got what was coming to him. If he hexed James, James would hex him or if Snape tripped Sirius, Sirius would trip Snape, and it was simple as that. 

Other times, it wasn’t so simple. The boys would go out of their way to humiliate Snape and Remus hated it. James and Sirius had never been the laughing stock, the butt end of a joke. When they made fun of Snape’s patched robes, Remus thought about how his only had one patch less. When they made fun of his crooked nose or greasy hair, Remus thought about his scars and thinning hair. When they made fun of Snape for being into the Dark Arts, Remus thought about how he literally is a Dark Creature.

But Snape was a right prick and Remus by no means liked the kid. Snape regularly promoted blood-superiority, he hung out with Death Eaters, and he had called Lily that unfathomable word only about a year ago. And then there was the fact that Snape never held back his tongue around Remus. He never passed up an opportunity to be nasty to Remus and he relished in the fact that Remus had failed his Potion O.W.L horribly. So when Peter spotted Snape walking down the pavement in muggle clothing with his head down and Sirius had begs Remus to pull over, he did.

Sirius pulled out a large bottle of seltzer that he bought earlier from the muggle store, shaking it furiously while James rolled down a window. He passed the bottle to James with a wild grin and James positioned the bottle out the window, smiling as the distance between the car and Snape. Snape didn’t look up until it’s too late. 

“Oi Snivelly!” James screamed. Snape looked up, his face pale and horrified. “Time for a much-needed shower!”

James uncapped the bottle and a jet of seltzer hits Snape. He made an odd gurgling noise as the seltzer drenched him. James threw the bottle out the window and rolled it back up quickly. Remus hit the gas and drove off in a hurry. It was technically illegal for Snape to perform magic in public since they were in a muggle village, but Snape might just risk it to jinx the boys, especially after they seltzer-attacked him.

The car soon erupted with laughter and even Remus found himself chuckling a bit. The prank was harmless, so Remus didn’t feel extremely guilty. James and Sirius were still howling with laughter when they pulled into the Evans residence. Remus put the car in park and unbuckled himself.

“You two stay in here. I’m going to go get the girls”, he said to the three boys. Sirius and Peter nod, however, James pouted and crossed his arms.

“How come I can’t come with?” He protested.

“She specifically told me not to let you come in. ‘Said you wouldn’t know how to act around muggles”, Remus explained while opening the door and stepping out.

“And you do?”

Remus nearly died. His friends were absolute idiots. “Yes! I don’t know where the fuck you were during the first hour of a drive here where I explained _in extreme detail_ every single automobile-related law in the muggle world! And if that wasn’t enough proof already, my mother is a muggle. You know, the half part of half-blood. And I know it’s been a while bloody month since you last saw Lily and that you’re eager to see her again, but she doesn’t want you in there and you ought to respect that”.

“But-”

“Prongs, let it go”, Sirius interrupted, shutting James up quick. James always listened to Sirius. Sirius gave Remus an apologetic smile. “Go on, Moony. We’ll be waiting”. It was the kindest thing Sirius said the entire car ride.

Remus walked up to the Evans’ front door and knocks a little harder than he should have. Being stuck in a car with those three for over three hours was torturous. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they had spent the drive listening to music and joking around instead of pestering Remus the entire ride. Most days Remus got along famously with his three friends, but today was just not one of those days.

A blonde pigeon-looking girl swinged the door open. She had the same green coloured eyes as Lily, although her’s was much meaner. Her face scrunched up at the sight of Remus and she looked him up and down before softening her features just slightly.

“You must be one of Lily’s kind”, she said shortly.

“I guess”, Remus shrugged

She scowled at him. “I thought your kind wore robes”.

Remus shrugged again. He could see why Lily disliked her sister so much. She was nasty. “It’s thrift-three degrees out right now. It’s really no weather for robes, don’t you think?”

Petunia gave him a look of pure disgust before stepping aside, allowing him to enter the house. “They’re upstairs. First door to your right”, she said before closing the door and storming off into a separate room of the house. Remus waited until she left before hiking up the narrow staircase. Once up the stairs, he walks to the door and knocks on it. He opens it after hearing Lily’s soft voice say ‘come in’.

He was met with the sight of five witches, all sitting on the floor and gripping magazines. Lily put hers down before standing up. She nearly knocked Remus over in a skull-crushing hug.

“Hiya, Remus”, she said, squeezing his torso tightly.

“Hullo”, he said, trying to gasp for air. “Lily… you’re suffocating me”.

Lily laughed and let him go. “Sorry, it’s just nice to see you. It’s been a while”.

“It’s been a month”.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Only a month you’ve already grown another inch. What in Merlin’s name are they feeding you back home?”

Remus opened his mouth to answer but got caught off by Marlene. “Yeah, Yeah, we get it. Lupin’s tall, you’re short, it’s nothing new. Now can somebody help me with this shrinking charm because there is no way in hell I’m going to be able to fit all of this in your car”.

Remus pulled out his wand. “And hello to you too, Marlene”, he said while shrinking her large suitcases. “You know we’re going camping and not to a Parisian fashion show”.

Marlene just smiled at him. “Yes, but I like to travel in style. You never know when your picture is going to be taken”. Marlene was not lying about the first part. Even while at Hogwarts Marlene had always paid attention to her looks. She neatly feathered her hair and applied a light layer of blue eye-shadow each day while at school.

“Marlene, we’re going camping. I don’t think anyone’s going to be taking your picture”, Remus said.

On cue Mary took out a camera out of her satchel bag and pretended to take a picture, making a clicking noise with her tongue. Remus grinned in response, taking a good look at the camera. It was a muggle polaroid. Remus had wanted one for ages but couldn’t afford the hefty price. He had seen them on the television but never in real life.

“Wow, is that a polaroid?” He gawked.

Mary smiled and nodded. “Yep. I got a summer job at the cinema in my town. It was the first things I bought with my paycheque.”

“Right, so now I’ve got somebody to take my picture at all times. And also, I know you and Lily wanted to take us muggle camping, but I was wondering if we could stop in London for a night. All the girls are behind me with this one”, Marlene asked, jerking her thumb towards the two girls still sprawled on the floor.

Remus turned to Lily and raised an eyebrow.

“Okay Remus before you get mad, I only agreed because they said they would pay for a hotel rooms-”

“I thought you were wiser than that, Lily. You know they’re just going to obliviate the hotel staff”, Remus teased. “But I think it’s a great idea. I’ve never been to London before, well muggle London at least. That is where we’ll be going, correct?”

Marlene nodded her head. “Of course, I heard the clubs there are just amazing.”

“Trying to pick up an innocent muggle boy, are you?” Remus asksed.

“I’ve retired from my wicked ways… I mean to say I’ve found somebody”, Marlene said with one of her killer smiles. There was a reason why so many boys asked Marlene out. You’d have to be blind not to note how attractive she is. Half of the school, even Slytherins, has had a crush on Marlene. Remus would be lying to say he didn’t have a phase where he couldn’t form a coherent sentence around her in third year. Luckily he had snapped out of it in fourth year when Sirius started going out with her. 

“Really? Who’s the mystery man?” 

The room went still the second Remus finished his sentence. It was as if a dementor had crawled in through the window, sucking the light playful mood up and turning it sour. Lily and Mary exchanged worried glances and Dorcas paled considerably. Marlene was the only one appearing to be calm. She smiled suggestively at Remus.

“Ah, well a good mystery is never solved”, Marlene replied smoothly. She flipped a strand of her feathered blonde hair and pushed it behind her ear, revealing a dainty earring. “We’ve all got our secretes, Remus”. 

“Can’t disagree with that”, Remus chuckled. He motioned towards his arm which was exceptionally bruised from a rough transformation in the cellar. Everybody gave him a sympathetic look. Normally Remus wore long robes or baggy jackets, trying to hide his scars at all costs. But during fifth-year the girls (much like James, Sirius, and Peter three years prior), had cornered him and questioned him about his monthly disappearances. Lily and Mary took the best to it, being muggle-born allowed them to sympathize with his condition. Marlene and Dorcas never said it, but he knew they looked at him a bit differently for a while. They seemed to get over that, though. So Remus didn’t hide his scars anymore when around them anymore. He wore tee-shirts and polos and only wore his jumpers when cold.

“Now as much as I’d like to sit here and gossip with you lot, we’ve really got to get going. I’m afraid James might blow up the car if he doesn’t see Lily soon”.

The drive to London went smoothly and halfway there Lily took over driving responsibilities. Remus squeezed himself in the very back row in between Marlene and James and they passed around cigarettes the entire ride. Lily managed to find a radio station playing decent music and soon enough everybody was belting their heart out to David Bowie. Remus made sure to soak every moment of the car drive. He’d miss this. He had only one more year with these people before they’d all step out into a war.

They checked into a dodgy muggle motel at around nine-pm. The girls got one room and the boys got the other. Remus was very displeased to see that there were only two beds in the room. He’d most definitely get stuck with Peter and Peter snored obnoxiously. Remus couldn’t even be mad at the poor bloke, he couldn’t help it.

The girls announced that they would be going to some renowned dance club that was all the rage right now. They dragged Remus into their room to take pictures of them with Mary’s polaroid. Every one of them looked absolutely amazing, and Remus respectfully acknowledged that, unlike his friends who made lewd comments during the photo session. After the girls left for muggle London, James suggested that they head to a muggle pub. They went to a shabby looking pub and got served even though they were underage by muggle law. After a few drinks they headed back to the inn and found that the girls were already back, buzzing about in the hallways, their hair more tousled than when they first left and their make up a bit smeared.

“You girls look tired”, Sirius remarked with a grin. The girls rolled their eyes at him in union. It was actually quite scary.

“And you look drunk”, Marlene retorted. 

Sirius gasped, pretending to look offending. “I’ll have you know that I’m mildly buzzed”, he snipped back. Even though Sirius and Marlene had dated in fourth-year and again in sixth-year, you would never be able to tell with the way they acted towards each other. There were no hard feelings or pettiness that usually came up with breakups. Sometimes Remus wondered why that was. 

“I’ve got a bottle of Firewhiskey in my bag,” Peter started, recoiling slightly as all eyes shifted towards him. “We could head in and drink it”.

“Peter, you are a good friend, you know that”, Sirius said, clapping Peter on the shoulder. He looked towards the girls and wiggled his eyebrows. “Let’s head in, shall we”.

After about ten minutes of heated debate, the eight teenagers came to the decision to play a game of ‘Never Have I Ever’. Sirius had opted to just take turns swigging from the bottle, but James had argued that they should pour everybody a cup and play a drinking game. The girls seemed to like the idea of a drinking game, and nobody wants to argue with the girls. So Sirius begrudgingly conjured eight shot glasses and filled all of them up. They took a pre-game shot and Sirius put the bottle into the middle of the newly-formed circle on the floor.

“Alright, who’s first?” Sirius asks impatiently. It was clear to Remus that Sirius just wanted to get drunk and fast. It made him want to laugh a bit to himself. Any resentment he felt earlier towards Sirius had suddenly vanished and was replaced with an overwhelming amount of fondness for his friend. God. He was already tipsy. 

“I’ll go,” Mary said, putting her ten fingers up. “Never have I ever gone to a strip club”.

James grabbed the bottle of fire whiskey from the middle of the circle and poured some of the amber liquid into his glass before also pouring some into Sirius, Peter, and Remus’s. Remus blushed as James poured his share. It wasn’t _his_ idea to go to a strip club, he’d more so been forced to go.

“Anybody else?” James asked, shooting a questioning glance towards the girls, who all shook their heads. 

Lily’s eyebrows shot to the ceiling. “Care to explain, James Fleamont Potter?” She asked sternly, her green eyes flickering with something that even in his addled state Remus could identify as jealousy. He made a note to remember this and tell James in the morning. He’d be over the moon.

James stalled. “Er… It was...er”, he stammered.

“We wanted Peter to be able to see some knockers in real life, you know, just in case he never sees them again”, Sirius interrupted. 

“Hey!”

“Calm down, Peter. I’m just taking the mickey”, Sirius said dismissively. He waved his hand in the air. “Evans, you go next”.

Lily rolled her eyes. “You _can_ call me Lily, Sirius”.

“I know, but I like calling you Evans. It just rolls off the tongue, just like how Remus rolls his ‘r’s when he’s drunk”, Sirius responding, directing the last part of his sentence towards Remus. He looked Remus in the eye, his grey eyes beautifully stormy, before winking. It made Remus’s stomach drop ever so slightly and Remus had to remind himself that Sirius was his friend and he was most definitely not to think of Sirius in any sort of way except platonic.

He’d notice himself having moments like with Sirius every so often. While Sirius was often moody, aggressive, and downright unpleasant to be around, when he wasn’t mopping around he was fun and charming, just like he was now. Remus occasionally found himself looking at Sirius for a second too long, taking in his sharp features and elegant demeanor. He’d immediately remind himself afterward that Sirius was his _friend_ and that he shouldn’t think of Sirius like that. Then Sirius would go and do something stupid and Remus himself would feel incredibly stupid for even admiring the dickhead to begin with.

“Okay then, Black”, Lily said, interrupting whatever butterflies were fluttering in Remus’s stomach. “Never have I ever bunked off a lesson”, she finished proudly. Everybody threw their hands towards the middle, trying to grab the bottle before bursting out in laughter. They passed the bottle around through the circle and everyone took a shot except Lily. “I’ll have you know I’m very shocked. Am I the only one here who takes my education seriously? And you, Lupin, I expected better”.

“He’s a Marauder, Lily!” Sirius exclaimed. He threw a loose arm around Remus’s shoulder. “I don’t know what kind of swot you think Moony is, but let me tell you it’s fake. It’s all fake!”

“I wouldn’t say it’s _all_ fake, Sirius”, Remus said gingerly, sliding out from under Sirius’s arms. He couldn’t handle being so close to Sirius like that. He tried to remind himself of how annoying Sirius was in the three-hour drive from Wales, anything to get those damned butterflied to go away.

“I’ll go next”, Dorcas offered. She smiled slyly from behind her brunette bangs. “Never have I ever shagged a bloke”, she said snidely. Remus watched horrified as Marlene grabbed the bottle and poured herself a shot before passing it to Mary. His stomach began to flip again, and this time it was not because of his stupid little come-and-go crush on Sirius. 

“What counts as shagging?” Remus asked hurriedly. He immediately regretted asking the question as seven pairs of eyes stared at him, all wide as plates. He felt his cheeks rise and hand jitter. Merlin, he should have just kept his giant mouth shut. He should have just lied. He should have just let them think he hadn’t. They could handle him being a Werewolf, but could they handle him being queer?

“Anything”, Dorcas answered, her eyes steady on Remus. Remus sighed as he took the bottle from Mary with shaky hands and poured himself a shot. He gripped the bottle tightly and downed his shot. Maybe he should just pack his bags now. James, Sirius, and Peter certainly wouldn’t want to share a room with a queer.

“Pass me the bottle”, a quiet but firm voice said from beside Remus. Remus faced Sirius, grey eyes locking with brown, and raised a single eyebrow. Sirius nodded.

Remus passed the bottle to Sirius, who didn’t even bother with the shot glass. He took a swig straight from the bottle.

The room remained silent, a thick layer of tension suspended in the air. Remus saw from the corner of his eyes James and Lily exchanging worried glances and Marlene and Dorcas looking at each other with their jaw dropped.

“If you want us to leave, just say it”, Sirius snarled, cutting the silence in hail. He glared around the room manically, his eyes crazed with a signature Black fire.

Nobody said anything for a good two minutes. Remus could hear his heartbeat against his chest and the panting of Sirius’s breath.

“I’m a lesbian”, Marlene blurted out, breaking the second silence. Everybody shifted their attention to her. “I’ve known since the middle of sixth-year when Sirius and I broke up. Sirius, Remus, I don’t know what your situations are, but just know I’ll never pass judgment on you”.

“You, a lesbian? But you’ve been with so many blokes”, James said stupidly. 

Marlene sent him a silencing look. “And after conducting all that research I have concluded I am in fact a lesbian”, she recorded stiffly. 

Dorcas bit her bottom lip. “I’m with her. Marlene and I… were girlfriends. Dating. Together”. She laced her finger in between Marlene’s and held their hands up proudly. 

“You don’t have to explain anything to us, we just want to let you know that we’re here for you a support no matter what”, Marlene said. “And Mary and Lily are on the same page as us- they aren’t dating- that’s not what I meant. But I mean they… er… supports us fully”.

“I think no differently of you two neither”, Lily added. 

“Me too”, Mary confirmed.

For the fourth time that night, everybody’s eyes shifted once more. This time they all stared at James and Peter, waiting for what they might say. Ultimately they were outnumbered. If they had any objection, they’d be the ones having to leave the inn.

“You lot mean the world to me and nothing will change that”, James said. “I don’t care who you like… I just care that you all are my mates.” Peter nodded along, tag-along to whatever James was saying (as per usual).

Remus felt a weight lift off his chest. He was not getting liked out tonight. Feeling brave, he decided to share his own story.

“I’ve known since I was thirteen. David Bowie is just too pretty”, he said with a smile. “I don’t really know what the proper term is for somebody like me is, I just like who I like. I don’t feel a need to put a label on it”.

“But Remus, weren’t you shagging that Ravencl-”

“Peter do not fucking finish that sentence”, Remus said sharply, feeling his temper rise. He didn’t like talking about things of a sexual nature in front of girls he was friends for some reason. It just made him feel awkward. “And yes, but as I said before, I like who I like.”

“And that’s perfectly fine”, Marlene said with finality, giving Remus an encouraging smile. “Some people like labels, others don’t. You like who you like”.

“I guess I should go next, now that we’ve established this little queer storytime”, Sirius mused. The animal-like passion in his eyes had died down, and he looked at his friends fondly. “I’m gay. I’ve known ever since I had an exceptionally nice night in the broom closet with… well I won’t say any names… but after that, I just knew girls weren’t for me”, he admitted sheepishly. “Not that you lot aren’t great, it’s just that knockers don’t get my grinds going if you know what I mean”, he added with a wink.

And with that everybody laughed. Remus felt immensely better now that he’d admitted out loud, to his closest friends, about his on-going sexuality crisis. It was exhilarating to know that your friends didn’t hate you for reasons beyond your control. 

The game soon fell back into full swing, and the questions got increasingly wilder. ‘Never have I ever been caught getting it on in a broom closet’, ‘Never have I ever showed up to class stoned’, ‘Never have I ever thought about kissing a friend’ (Remus had taken shots for two of the questions). After a good thirty minutes, everybody was pretty toasty. Remus slipped out onto the inn balcony for a cigarette, trying to avoid the dirty looks Lily was sure to give him if he smoked it inside. He lit up his cigarette and got two drags in before the door slid open and a red-cheeked Sirius stepped out onto the balcony.

“Hi, Remus”, he greeted quietly, almost seeming shy. He scooted next to Remus but kept a good distance between the two, keeping his eyes down at his feet. It wasn’t like Sirius to get quiet and shy, Remus wondered what brought up the sudden mood change.

“Hi, Sirius”. Remus passed him the cigarette. “So that was interesting”, he said.

Sirius chuckled and took a drag from the cigarette. “Yeah, definitely…”, he trailed off, staring out into the bustling muggle-street beneath them. “So you like blokes”.

“Yes, I’m glad you got that”.

Sirius frowned. “I… forget it… nevermind”, he stammered, turning his head. He passed the cigarette back to Remus and head towards the door.

“Sirius, I’m sorry”, Remus apologized. Sirius paused. “Yes, I’m into blokes. And I gather you are too”.

Sirius nodded slowly and turned around to face Remus. “I am. It feels so good to be out to our friends… Thank you, Remus. I couldn't have mustered up the courage to do it otherwise. Thank you for being brave and taking the first step. You put everything at risk to be yourself and that’s admirable.”

Remus blushed. He was glad it was pitch blackout. “It was nothing”.

“Bollocks. Remus, look at me”. Sirius took step clothes and Remus’s breath hitched. The alcohol muddling through his head told him he should fling his arms around Sirius and press their lips together, but he knew better than that. Remus was brave, but he wasn’t _that_ brave. 

Sirius leaned forward, looking up at Remus. Remus could feel the warmth of Sirius’s body and could hear the soft humming of his heart.

“You’re amazing”, Sirius said slowly. Remus watched as Sirius’s eyes trailed down to his lips. “Can I kiss you?”

Remus didn’t respond, he just closed the gap in between them.


End file.
